Leader of the Pack
by Crystal Dawn
Summary: Grimmjow and Neliel visit the human world again - and this time, they have a surprise for Ichigo! Sequel to A Love Story in Three Acts.


**Title:** Leader of the Pack  
 **Series:** Bleach  
 **Rating:** PG 13  
 **Summary:** Grimmjow and Nel stop by the human world, and this time Ichigo is the one to get the surprise.  
 **Pairing:** IchiHime, GrimmNel  
 **Spoilers:** For the ending of the series!

* * *

The sky was nearly cloudless that September afternoon. Kurosaki Ichigo leaned back into the park bench as he watched the birds fly soundlessly overhead. His lovely wife leaned against his shoulder, his arm slung around her back. Orihime watched their four year old son, Kazui, run along the grass after the dragonflies, wielding a stick as a zanpakuto. He'd been cautioned against yelling "bankai" in public, but it was obvious to Ichigo what the boy was doing anyway.

Normally Orihime brought Kazui out to the park by herself, but this time Ichigo had come along with them on her suggestion. It was the weekend and he had nowhere better to be. Furthermore, apparently Orihime had set up a play date with one of her friends and their son, and figured Ichigo would want to meet them, too. She was being strangely tight-lipped about who they were meeting, but Ichigo didn't think too much of it; she probably thought he'd be pleasantly surprised. In that case, he was content to play along with his bubbly wife's antics.

Just as Kazui had persuaded a dragonfly to land on his "zanpakuto", Ichigo saw the boy suddenly look up towards the sky. Just a split second later, he felt it too. Someone had opened a garganta nearby. Although it was masked – poorly, at that – he could clearly feel the presence of multiple Arrancar. Just as he was about to stand up to investigate, Orihime covered his hand with hers.

"Oh, it looks like they're here!" she said with a smile. Ichigo sat back onto the bench and gave his wife a curious look. While he trusted Orihime implicitly, sometimes she was just a little… flighty. Most of the Arrancar in Hueco Mundo were peaceful enough now that Aizen was confined beneath Soul Society, but that still didn't explain why Orihime had apparently scheduled a play date with them in the human world. Ichigo had precious little time to ruminate on the question before the Arrancar in question had reached their bench.

"Well, well!" the all-too-familiar voice growled, much to Ichigo's chagrin. "If it isn't Kurosaki Ichigo! I've been waiting to see you for a while!" If anyone else had said it, Ichigo would have almost been flattered. But considering who was speaking, he was mostly annoyed. He'd be lucky instead if this didn't end in a fight.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo huffed, failing to notice Orihime's smile and small wave. It wasn't Grimmjow that she was waving at, though.

"Hi, Ichigo! Hi, Orihime!" At this, Ichigo actually looked up to see who else was there. It was Neliel, who gave a little waggle of her fingers in a wave when he looked at her. Neither one were dressed for combat. Grimmjow wore a black leather jacket, a white tank top, jeans with a couple of chains dangling from the pockets, and the black steel-toed boots he'd gotten right after he started working with Urahara. Neliel wasn't dressed much differently, although she naturally looked less like she was about to terrorize a small town on a modded motorcycle. Needless to say, Ichigo was at least a little confused about why these two had appeared.

"Hi, Nel," he said, brows puckering. "…I don't get it, Orihime. You said this was a play date." Grimmjow turned his head with a "tch", but Neliel's grin grew brighter. Just at that moment, as Kazui reached them to investigate, something popped up behind Grimmjow's shoulders. Ichigo's eyebrows quirked as he processed what he was seeing.

Judging from the piece of bone mask on the top of its head, it was an Arrancar. Underneath its little bone crown was a messy head of mint-colored hair, and peeping out from underneath those sprigs was a bright pair of green eyes. Ichigo wasn't exactly sure of the specifics of Arrancar genetics, but it was hard not to see the strong resemblance between this kid and the tiny Nel that Ichigo had first met in Hueco Mundo ten years ago.

"What the hell," Ichigo muttered under his breath, earning a pout from Orihime.

"Language," she reminded him quietly, tossing a glance at Kazui, who was grinning. Ichigo looked nervously at his son, whom he just knew had stored that swear for later. He suspected the Arrancars cared much less, though.

"Surprised, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow said with a sinister grin. What was undeniably his child giggled and bounced a bit, undercutting his intensity considerably. Ichigo, knowing that any onlookers might see him gesturing to thin air, sputtered and waved a hand in the Arrancars' direction.

"How… How did _that_ happen?!" Grimmjow's grin got wider, if that was even possible, and Neliel got a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Ichigo realized immediately that he was in dangerous territory. "Never mind, I _know_ how it happened, I just didn't realize Arrancar could… you know!" This reaction was probably exactly why Orihime had decided to spring this on him.

"Daddy, Mama!" Kazui brought Ichigo's attention back down, where the child was tugging at his knee. "Can he come play?" Completely defused, Ichigo turned towards the Arrancar with his eyebrows arched in an obvious question. Neliel responded with an expression of open joy before turning to pluck the child from Grimmjow's back.

"Sure!" she replied, setting the smaller hollow on the ground. "Have fun, Stinky!" Grimmjow visibly bristled.

"I told you, that's not his name!" The Arrancar boy ran towards the open field Kazui had been playing in, oblivious to his father's barking.

"Come catch me!" he called behind to the redheaded boy. As they recessed into the field, their parents were free to talk.

"Is that his nickname?" Ichigo asked skeptically. While Grimmjow sneered, Neliel seemed perfectly chipper.

"Yes!"

"Nope!"

"I think it's cute," Orihime chirped, suppressing a giggle. Ichigo could see that this topic irritated Grimmjow, so of course he decided to press it.

"So what's his real name?" He could barely keep from smirking himself.

"Leorides K Jaegerjacques!"

"Stinky Vol Odelscwank!"

They answered at the same time, each as loud as the other, and then immediately began arguing. It was entirely predictable and reminded Ichigo of the time he'd first met little Nel with her brothers. Grimmjow had apparently been assimilated into their family, probably not entirely willingly.

"I told you, woman! 'Stinky' is not a name fit for a future king! My son has to have a name he can be proud of!"

"It's perfectly fine! He can pick one for himself later if he doesn't like it. Besides, it's descriptive!"

The more-or-less human couple watched with interest. It was obvious from the lack of reaction of the other families in the park that the Arrancar hadn't bothered to wear gigai today, for which Ichigo was exceedingly grateful at that moment. But he also noticed something else. Although Grimmjow was sneering and snarling and as angry as Ichigo had ever seen him, his spiritual pressure was no more intense than it usually was. Was this for show, or was there something wrong with him?

"Hmm," Orihime hummed, distracting Ichigo from the two hollows (one of whom was resorting to biting). "You don't think we should let Kazui-kun choose his own name when he gets older, do you?" Ichigo quirked his eyebrow. It seemed that Neliel and Orihime might have somewhat similar parenting styles.

"I'd hope he'd be proud of it and want to keep it," he mused in return. "I mean, it's got the same character as mine and his granddad's, you know?" Orihime looked thoughtful.

"That's true," she said. "He might come up with something better, though!" Ichigo smiled at his wife.

"Well, if he does, he can decide on it," he replied, patting Orihime's knee. The altercation beside them had drawn down into a headlock, with Neliel having Grimmjow in a submission hold on his knees. Finally, the two hollows regained Ichigo and Orihime's attention, who both regarded them impassively.

"Oh, did you work it out?" Orihime chimed cheerily. Grimmjow growled and Neliel beamed. In that moment, it all made sense to Ichigo; probably the only one who could get Grimmjow in that position was Neliel. Smiling, Neliel released her grip on her partner, who rose to his feet. Ichigo mentally noted that he didn't look like he wanted to continue.

"Tch," Grimmjow spat quietly. "If we were back home, I'd have shown you a thing or two." Neliel shrugged him off breezily.

"Don't worry about him," she said cheerily, "He's grumpy sometimes. Anyway, it's great to see you both again! And your kid! He's so big now!"

"It's great to see you, too!" Orihime chirped, leaning forward. "Oh! I have a great idea! Nel-chan, let's go get ice cream!" Neliel's expression changed then; it was almost imperceptible, but Ichigo caught it. His eyebrow rose, but he said nothing. Neliel's eyes darted from Orihime to Grimmjow and back quickly.

"Grimmjow?" she said hesitantly. Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"Do what you want," he groused, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm not gonna start a fight." The tone of his voice suggested they'd had this conversation before. Neliel hesitated for another second before smiling towards Orihime.

"Okay!" she chirped, traipsing over to Orihime to pull her up from the bench. "I've never had ice cream before! What is it?" The two women began to walk as they chatted casually about what kind of ice cream to get. Ichigo would have felt sorry for Neliel, but he figured she might have the same tastes as Orihime. Not for the first time, he quietly marveled at his wife's ability to befriend anyone, hollow or not.

"Huh," Ichigo puffed as he watched them recede down the sidewalk, "Arrancar can eat normal food, too, I guess." Grimmjow huffed as he flopped onto the bench in the place Orihime had just vacated.

"Of course we can, dumbass," Grimmjow tsked. "Aizen used to make us sit through these lame-ass tea parties whenever he called meetings. At least the tea was good." Ichigo probably had the wrong mental image, but the idea of Aizen hosting tea parties made him nearly snort. Still, that brought up another point that Ichigo found interesting.

"You get to talk like that around the kid?"

"Neliel is worse," Grimmjow replied with something bordering awe for a moment before his normal demeanor returned. "Not in the same way, though. I mean… you know how she is." Ichigo was immediately reminded of how upsetting the constant dick jokes were when he first met the smaller Nel. More than that, it was almost eerie how… normal Grimmjow seemed, talking like this. Like a normal dad, dealing with normal adult life. Knowing Grimmjow like he did, it was deeply surreal.

"Speaking of that," Ichigo said slowly, eyes narrowing, "You're good to her, right? You don't hit her or anything, do you?" If it had been anyone else, Ichigo would never have phrased it that way. But it was Grimmjow, so subtlety was off the table. Grimmjow snorted and didn't seem terribly offended either way. If Ichigo had to guess, the Arrancar probably had no concept of "domestic violence". Still, Neliel was his friend and he wanted to be sure Grimmjow wasn't treating her badly.

"What are you, her dad?" the blue-haired man shot back, rolling his eyes. "Any time I try to fight with her, she shuts me down. I know I could take her, but she won't even let me try!" Ichigo's expression turned flat, but he relaxed anyway.

"That… wasn't what I asked, but you answered my question anyway," he deadpanned. It was pretty clear that the two Arrancar didn't have the same kind of relationship he and Orihime had, but it seemed like they were alright together. Grimmjow looked thoroughly unimpressed.

"Whatever," he grunted, crossing his legs. "Just 'cause you got all flabby and lazy doesn't mean we all did."

"Hey!" Ichigo protested, honestly feeling just a bit insulted, "I'm not flabby! I just have a job and responsibilities and all that boring adult crap now!" Grimmjow seemed to be pretending not to have heard him.

"I mean, look at me!" he said smugly, pointed canines glinting. "I still fight all the time, protectin' our territory and shit." Ichigo felt his eye twitch.

"You live in a place full of hollows that are constantly trying to eat each other," he intoned flatly.

"That's what I'm sayin'," Grimmjow replied, rolling his eyes. "That's why humans are weak! You guys don't even chase each other, how are you gonna keep in shape?" As if on cue, their two sons ran right in front of the bench they were occupying, laughing raucously as they went.

"Konsoooooo!" Kazui shrieked, flailing his zanpakuto stick wildly. Leorides cackled while gasping for air, snot and tears trailing behind him.

"You'll never catch me, Soul Reapeeeeer!"

"Dammit, boy," Grimmjow yelled, leaning forward on the bench, fists clenched, "Don't run! Fight back!" Ichigo didn't so much as lean forward. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

"Hurry and catch him, Kazui!" he called cheerily. "Don't let him get away!" Of course the kids didn't seem to hear their fathers. They retreated back towards the open field, shrieking with laughter as they went. None of the other human families seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Heh," Ichigo smirked, leaning back on the bench. "He takes after Nel." Grimmjow bristled as much as Ichigo knew he would.

"Yeah, but he's _my_ heir, dammit!" Grimmjow snarled, barely opening his mouth. "He needs to be a better fighter already." It was less a harsh demand and more a disgruntled complaint.

"C'mon, Grimmjow, he's like three." Then Ichigo thought for a second. "Did you really become the King of Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo asked skeptically. "I thought Hallibel…"

"Yeah, yeah, she runs the place," he shrugged. "I don't care about all that 'government' crap, so we get along fine." Ichigo had really begun to doubt that Grimmjow knew exactly what a king was or did, but he had suspected that for some time. He also didn't want to press the point.

"Hard to see you 'getting along' with anyone," Ichigo remarked, stifling a laugh.

"She doesn't bother me and I don't bother her," he snorted as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "Neliel's always on my ass about one thing or another, so I have to make her back off. Not like that woman of yours." Ichigo raised an eyebrow but let it slide; he doubted Arrancar really had much of a concept of marriage outside of maybe knowing the word.

"Speaking of," Grimmjow segued, turning to look at Ichigo with a combination of barely restrained glee and maliciousness, "I guess that's why you've gone all soft, eh? You look just like any other human slob nowadays!" Ichigo was distinctly unimpressed.

"I have a job and responsibilities now, Grimmjow," Ichigo said flatly. "I still get the hollows around town, but it's not like I'll be running off to Hueco Mundo again anytime soon." Grimmjow snorted and Ichigo could tell that it rankled him. Now it was time to turn the knife. "What about you? You seem pretty low-key today. Can't imagine a family man like you giving anyone trouble nowadays." The Arrancar's hackles raised and Ichigo could feel his spiritual pressure perk up. Oh, so he wasn't sick after all!

"The only reason I don't rip you apart right here is because you suck so much here I'd have to fight you in Hueco Mundo to make it interesting!" Grimmjow snarled. Ichigo would have been more concerned if he hadn't prodded him into that reaction himself.

"And Nel would get on your case, right?She'd be upset." He tried not to smirk, but his mouth still twitched upwards just a hair. Grimmjow's face was growing redder by the second. It was a miracle he hadn't exploded off the bench yet.

"Are you sayin' I'm neutered?!" Now his spiritual pressure was spiking; apparently, those were fighting words somehow. Ichigo's eyebrows arched with the realization: this was a Grimmjow that had something to care about. His reflex wasn't to deny he cared about Neliel or their son; it was just to defend his pride.

And it wasn't that Ichigo doubted he had cared about his old Fracciones, either. Compared to how he knew other Espada treated their followers, Grimmjow was downright humane. In fact, he'd come to believe that Grimmjow had probably pursued him so doggedly, at least at first, out of the hurt and frustration of losing his gang. After all, a king with no subjects was just a guy with an ego problem.

That still wouldn't stop Ichigo from picking at him for fun, though.

"No, I implied it," he responded, the smirk in his voice making its way to his face. Predictably, Grimmjow rose to his feet, hands balled into fists and Ichigo rose with him. It was probably inevitable that they'd get into it without their wives around.

"I don't care what Neliel said," he growled, making the first moves to lunge at Ichigo. He stopped short, however, fist half-cocked. Ichigo realized he'd instinctively fallen into a defensive stance and consciously relaxed a bit. Grimmjow seemed frozen in place.

"Haha, got you!" came the perky voice from behind the Espada's back. Ichigo could see it then, the telltale signs that Grimmjow's shirt was being pulled tight from behind. Apparently, his son had tackled him from behind, but the tips of his hands and feet and only a few greenish-blue curls were all that was visible around Grimmjow's frame. Ichigo straightened, curious.

"Hey, where's…"

He didn't have time to finish his thought before Kazui slammed into his back in a tackle. Surprised to have been taken off guard for once, he muted his response to just supporting the preschooler's weight with his back. Clearly, the smaller Kurosaki had taken a leap from the park bench to get up that high.

"Hey, that's dangerous!" Ichigo protested. Even knowing his wife could basically raise the dead, he'd rather Kazui not try to find out first-hand.

"This is a rebellion!" Kazui yelled, laughing.

"Down wif the King!" Leorides responded happily. "You're outnumbered!" He had managed to climb his father's back and wrap his little arms around his neck from behind. Grimmjow gave a momentary smirk before his expression turned into an intimidating sneer. He clawed the air over his shoulders, intentionally missing his son at every turn.

"I won't go down that easy!" he roared, turning from side to side as Leorides clung on to his neck for dear life. The little Arrancar shrieked with laughter, legs flying out behind him as he swung.

Ichigo took this as his cue, falling dramatically to the ground so Kazui could "tackle" him effectively. The smaller redhead straddled his dad's neck, grabbing his short hair triumphantly.

"Tell your Mama… I love her…" he groaned before coughing and sputtering out one "last" rattling sigh. Kazui cheered for a moment before noticing his dad was suspiciously limp.

"Oh… Oh no, Papa?!" the four year old squawked anxiously. "This… This wasn't what our revolt was fooooor!" Ichigo never could tell if Kazui was genuinely upset or just really into his make-believe – kind of like his mother in that way.

Kazui's mother also coincidentally came into view just at that moment, carrying three ice cream cones. Neliel walked alongside her with three of her own, enjoying a chipper conversation with her brunette friend. Upon catching sight of the calamity unfolding in the park, the two of them paused and evaluated the situation. There was Ichigo, "dead" on the ground with Kazui crying over his "corpse". Not far from them was Grimmjow, swinging frantically back and forth and trying to dislodge his small son, who appeared to be dangling from the older man's hair.

"A-ah," Orihime said before smiling broadly. "They're having fun!" Neliel grinned in return.

"This is much better than I thought it would turn out!" she replied.

* * *

The eternal night air zipped shut behind them as the family of hollows reemerged in Hueco Mundo. Neliel, being Neliel, was humming gently to herself. Grimmjow wore his perennial look of disdain. Leorides was asleep, clinging to his father's back as usual.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Neliel asked as they walked. Grimmjow grunted in non-committal response, rolling his electric blue eyes.

"The kid had fun," he grumbled, avoiding the question. Like hell he'd admit he'd enjoyed himself. Not like Neliel wouldn't just assume it anyway.

"You liked the ice cream too, huh?" His lip curled in an almost imperceptible snarl. Neliel definitely saw it, though.

"It was alright, I guess," he scoffed.

"You ate half of mine, too!" Neliel laughed, causing Grimmjow to growl and blush ever so slightly.

"But actually," she said after a few more moments of walking, "It was nice to see you have fun." Grimmjow tsked, but didn't correct her.

"Why're you so worried about me havin' fun?" he grunted, looking straight ahead. Neliel's smile drew down a little, dampened as if by a cool rain.

"Ahh," she said, eyes darting from her companion to the landscape stretching towards Las Noches, where Hallibel governed and they currently lived. "I worry a lot that you might not be happy, actually."

"When have you ever seen me actually look happy?" he answered, looking down his nose at her. Neliel's eyes slid towards him and she opened her mouth to answer before he held up a finger to stop her. " _Besides_ when I was tryna kill Kurosaki."

"That's kinda what I mean," Neliel returned quietly. "I always worry that this is – we are too dull for you. That you'd rather be out hunting on your own." Grimmjow rolled his eyes, snorted, and looked back over the far away sands towards the home Hallibel had given them. Like hell was he going to get all sappy about things. Neliel was prone to that sort of thing, though. It didn't exactly bother him; she was pretty hot when she was distressed, but if it wasn't just for play it became a pain in his ass.

"If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be," he grumbled. The taller Arrancar reached behind his back and easily dislodged his son, swung the smaller hollow around, and easily held him in his arms. The boy didn't wake at all. Grimmjow handed him off to his mother, who carried him just as effortlessly.

"Eh?" she asked, securing the boy to her hip, "Did you get tired?" Grimmjow cracked his knuckles and flexed his shoulders, his expression remaining slightly bored. Then, he smirked.

"Do I look tired, Neliel?" he growled. Neliel stared for a second before she blinked her recognition. Her smile broadened in anticipation. "It's easier to run when you hold him."

"Eheheh!" she giggled. "I won't let you catch me! But you better at least chase me til I cry!" Grimmjow's teeth glinted in the stark moonlight. Without another word, Neliel took off in the direction of the palace, sand billowing in the wake of her sonida. Nearly soundlessly, Grimmjow sped after her.

What Grimmjow would never say out loud was that he didn't find being with her or their son boring at all. Sure, he sometimes chaffed when Hallibel or Neliel told him not to do something, but that was a different thing altogether. In reality, even though he was socially maladjusted, he was still a social creature. Just like the cat that he was, he enjoyed the companionship of his mate and cub. And like a cat, he didn't always make it clear. But he didn't mind a healthy chase now and then to let Neliel know.


End file.
